Frederick Phisterer

Background

He was born on October 11, 1836 in Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany, the son of Frederick and Frederiki Hahn Phisterer.

Education

He received his early education in the German schools until his nineteenth year.

Career

He came alone to New York City, landing on June 22, 1855. Within a few months he enlisted at Philadelphia in the United States Army. In March 1856, he joined Company A of the 3rd Artillery, was advanced to the rank of corporal on October 12, 1858, and to sergeant on July 10, 1860. He participated in Wright's expedition against the Spokane Indians, in Indian fighting at Four Lakes and at Spokane Plains in September 1858, in the occupation of the San Juan Islands from July to December 1859, and in Stein's expedition in eastern Oregon and Idaho in the summer of 1860. On December 6, 1860, he was honorably discharged at Vancouver and came east to engage in business in Ohio.

After the first battle of Bull Run in the Civil War, he reënlisted and was made sergeant-major, 18th Infantry, on July 31, 1861. He was commissioned 2nd lieutenant, October 30, 1861, promoted 1th lieutenant, February 27, 1862, and captain, February 15, 1866. He fought with the 18th Infantry throughout the Civil War, and at Stone's River on December 31, 1862, he won lasting fame by volunteering to carry a message, under heavy fire, to a battalion commander whose troops faced capture or annihilation unless warned of their danger. He later won the commendation of his superior officers for his gallantry in action during the Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign of 1863, and in the Atlanta Campaign of 1864.

After the Civil War, he served with the 36th and with the 7th Infantry regiments until August 4, 1870, when he resigned his commission to enter civil pursuits in New York, in Brooklyn, in various cities in New Jersey, and in Columbus, Ohio. He commanded a company of citizens' police in the Columbus railroad riots in 1877 and was commissioned captain of the Governor's Guards, Ohio National Guard, on August 27, 1877, resigning in January 1879.

He entered New York State military service on January 1, 1880, as colonel and acting assistant adjutant-general, was made assistant adjutant-general on November 22, 1892, and was reappointed on January 1, 1897. He served in this capacity through the Spanish-American War, being brevetted brigadier-general on December 22, 1898. He became colonel on the staff of the major-general of the New York National Guard on March 5, 1903, and was brevetted major-general, January 2, 1905.

He wrote, The National Guardsman on Guard and Kindred Duties (1879), The National Guardsman as a Non-Commissioned Officer of Infantry (1885), Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States (1883), and New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1865, the first edition of which was published in 1890.

He was given original rank as lieutenant-colonel on the National Guard divisional staff in 1908, and served as adjutant-general of New York until his death at Albany in 1909.

Achievements

• Frederick Phisterer served with distinction in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and was promoted to the rank of adjutant-general. He was well-known as the author of The National Guardsman on Guard and Kindred Duties, Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States and others. In recognition of his valor, he was presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1894. He was honoured with the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the Order of Indian Wars of the United States and the Medal of Honor Legion of the United States.

Works

More photos

• book

  • New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1865

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

Connections

He married Isabel Riley at Columbus, Ohio, on November 14, 1867, and they had two sons.

Father:

Frederick Phisterer

Mother:

Frederiki Hahn Phisterer

Spouse:

Isabel Riley